Methods and systems for creation of a dynamically configurable product design

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure features methods and systems for creation of a dynamically configurable product design, sometimes referred to as business driven assemblies. Such product designs may be referred to as driven by a bill-of-materials (BOM) or selection of options by a customer, sales representative, or vendor, and may be performed responsive to a product lifecycle management (PLM) plan. The system allows a customer to define specifications of a product, and then dynamically generates a CAD model responsive to the defined specifications or selected options.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for computer-aideddesign. In particular, the present disclosure relates to methods andsystems for creation of a dynamically configurable product design.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In many industries, from industrial product design to 3D animation,computer-aided design (CAD) applications, computer-aided engineering(CAE) applications, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) applications, orothers are used for creating, manipulating, displaying, or analyzingtwo- and three-dimensional models of objects. These applications,referred to generally as CAD applications, allow a user to input andview a design for a particular structure in the form of an object. Theuser can often rotate the view of the object to any angle, and also zoomin or zoom out for different views and perspectives. Additional visualfeatures such as highlighting, shading, cross-hatching, coloring,texturing, and others enable the user to design an object with the aidof a computing device. In some versions of CAD applications, known asparametric or history-based CAD, the application can also keep track ofand monitor design changes to the object in addition to designdependencies. Accordingly, when the user adds or changes an elementwithin the object, other values that depend on that change may beautomatically updated in accordance with engineering concepts and rulesof design. For example, a length of a first object may be defined by aformula that includes, as a variable, a length of a second object.Accordingly, modifying the length of the second object may cause the CADapplication to recalculate the length of the first object and regeneratethe model.

While in many uses, objects may be simple assemblies of a few basicgeometric shapes, in others, objects may include many thousands ofcomplex parts. For example, a detailed CAD model of an automobile mayinclude thousands of unique features of diverse types including treaddesign on tires, taillight lens design, electrical subsystem routing,instrument panel layout, spark plug gap spacing, seatbelt latch design,and many others. This complexity may result in slow operation of theseapplications. Furthermore, due to the complexity, these programstypically have very steep learning curves.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure features methods and systems for creation of adynamically configurable product design, sometimes referred to asbusiness driven assemblies. Such product designs may be referred to asdriven by a bill-of-materials (BOM) or selection of options by acustomer, sales representative, or vendor, and may be performedresponsive to a product lifecycle management (PLM) plan. The systemallows a customer to define specifications of a product, and thendynamically generates a CAD model responsive to the definedspecifications or selected options.

In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a method forcreation of a dynamically-configurable product design. The methodincludes creating, by a user of a computer-aided design (CAD)application executing on a processor of a computing device, a modularstructure of a plurality of modules of a dynamically-configurableproduct design, the plurality of modules comprising at least onevariable module. The method also includes selecting, by the user from aplurality of variants of the at least one variable module, a variant touse in the dynamically-configurable product design. The method furtherincludes placing, by the CAD application, the selected variant in ageometric model of the dynamically-configurable product design. Themethod also includes modifying, by the CAD application, positioning orgeometry of a module adjacent to the placed selected variant in thegeometric model responsive to one or more constraints of the placedselected variant.

In one embodiment, the method includes the modular structure comprisinga tree of relationships of modules of a product design. In anotherembodiment, the method includes each module of the product designincluding a locator interface or a shaper interface. In yet anotherembodiment, the method includes each variant of the plurality ofvariants of the at least one variable module including a correspondinglocator interface or shaper interface. In still another embodiment, themethod includes the plurality of variants of the at least one variablemodule including a generic variant.

In some embodiments, the method includes selecting, by the user, avariant from a predetermined list of variants of the variable modulepresented by a product configuration tool. In other embodiments, themethod includes replacing a previously-used variant of the at least onevariable module in the geometric model with the selected variant. In oneembodiment, the method includes modifying positioning or geometry of theadjacent module to align an interface of the adjacent module to acorresponding interface of the placed selected variant. In anotherembodiment, the method includes the one or more constraints of theplaced selected variant comprising rules for aligning a locator orshaper interface of an adjacent module to a corresponding locator orshaper interface of the placed selected variant. In some embodiments,the method includes the dynamically-configurable product designcomprising an historic recipe of feature-based geometry of a CAD model.

In another aspect, the present invention features a system for creationof a dynamically-configurable product design. The system includes acomputing device comprising a processor, the processor configured toexecute a computer-aided design (CAD) application for creating, by auser of the CAD application, a modular structure of a plurality ofmodules of a dynamically-configurable product design, the plurality ofmodules comprising at least one variable module; a selection interfacefor selecting, by the user from a plurality of variants of the at leastone variable module, a variant to use in the dynamically-configurableproduct design; and a geometry engine for placing the selected variantin a geometric model of the dynamically-configurable product design, andmodifying positioning or geometry of a module adjacent to the placedselected variant in the geometric model responsive to one or moreconstraints of the placed selected variant.

In some embodiments of the system, the modular structure comprises atree of relationships of modules of a product design. In otherembodiments of the system, each module of the product design includes alocator interface or a shaper interface. In still other embodiments ofthe system, each variant of the plurality of variants of the at leastone variable module includes a corresponding locator interface or shaperinterface. In yet still other embodiments of the system, the pluralityof variants of the at least one variable module includes a genericvariant.

In one embodiment of the system, the selection interface is configuredfor selecting, by the user, a variant from a predetermined list ofvariants of the variable module presented by a product configurationtool. In another embodiment of the system, the geometry engine isconfigured for replacing a previously-used variant of the at least onevariable module in the geometric model with the selected variant. Instill another embodiment of the system, the geometry engine isconfigured for modifying positioning or geometry of the adjacent moduleto align an interface of the adjacent module to a correspondinginterface of the placed selected variant. In yet still anotherembodiment of the system, the one or more constraints of the placedselected variant comprise rules for aligning a locator or shaperinterface of an adjacent module to a corresponding locator or shaperinterface of the placed selected variant. In some embodiments of thesystem, the dynamically-configurable product design comprises anhistoric recipe of feature-based geometry of a CAD model.

The details of various embodiments of the invention are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages ofthe disclosure will become more apparent and better understood byreferring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a networkenvironment comprising local machines in communication with remotemachines;

FIGS. 1B-1E are block diagrams depicting embodiments of computers usefulin connection with the methods and systems described herein;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an embodiment of creation of a chamferedthree-dimensional object through direct modeling;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of an embodiment of creation of a chamferedthree-dimensional object through parametric modeling;

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system forcomputer-aided design;

FIG. 3B is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of computer-aideddesign;

FIG. 3C is a flow chart of another embodiment of a method ofcomputer-aided design;

FIG. 3D is a flow chart of yet another embodiment of a method ofcomputer-aided design;

FIG. 3E is a flow chart of an embodiment of constraint locking in amethod of computer-aided design;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system for creation ofbusiness driven assemblies;

FIG. 4B is a tree diagram of a modular structure and three dimensionalmodel of an example of a business driven assembly;

FIG. 4C is a tree diagram of an embodiment of a plurality of variants ofa variable module in an example of a business driven assembly;

FIG. 4D is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of creation ofbusiness driven assemblies;

FIG. 5A is a three-dimensional view of an example of a computer-aideddesign model;

FIG. 5B is a three-dimensional view of a sub-assembly of the example ofthe computer-aided design model;

FIG. 5C is a three-dimensional view of a sub-assembly of thesub-assembly of the example of the computer-aided design model; and

FIG. 5D is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for dynamicallyloading portions of a computer-aided design model on demand.

The features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings, in which like reference charactersidentify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, likereference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar,and/or structurally similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For purposes of reading the description of the various embodimentsbelow, the following descriptions of the sections of the specificationand their respective contents may be helpful:

-   -   Section A describes a network environment and computing        environment which may be useful for practicing embodiments        described herein;    -   Section B describes embodiments of systems and methods for using        a direct computer-aided design modeling user interface for        creating and modifying a parametric computer-aided design model;    -   Section C describes embodiments of systems and methods for        creating business driven assemblies; and    -   Section D describes embodiments of systems and methods for        dynamically loading portions of a computer-aided design model on        demand.        A. Network and Computing Environment

Before discussing details of the embodiments of methods and systems ofcomputer-aided design, it may be useful to briefly describe a networkenvironment and computing environment which may be useful for practicingthe embodiments herein. Referring now to FIG. 1A, an embodiment of anetwork environment is depicted. In brief overview, the networkenvironment comprises one or more local machines 102 a-102 n (alsogenerally referred to as local machine(s) 102, client(s) 102, clientnode(s) 102, client machine(s) 102, client computer(s) 102, clientdevice(s) 102, endpoint(s) 102, or endpoint node(s) 102) incommunication with one or more remote machines 106 a-106 n (alsogenerally referred to as server(s) 106 or remote machine(s) 106) via oneor more networks 104. In some embodiments, a local machine 102 has thecapacity to function as both a client node seeking access to resourcesprovided by a server and as a server providing access to hostedresources for other clients 102 a-102 n.

Although FIG. 1A shows a network 104 between the local machines 102 andthe remote machines 106, the local machines 102 and the remote machines106 may be on the same network 104. The network 104 can be a local-areanetwork (LAN), such as a company Intranet, a metropolitan area network(MAN), or a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet or the WorldWide Web. In some embodiments, there are multiple networks 104 betweenthe local machines 102 and the remote machines 106. In one of theseembodiments, a network 104′ (not shown) may be a private network and anetwork 104 may be a public network. In another of these embodiments, anetwork 104 may be a private network and a network 104′ a publicnetwork. In still another embodiment, networks 104 and 104′ may both beprivate networks. In yet another embodiment, networks 104 and 104′ mayboth be public networks.

The network 104 may be any type and/or form of network and may includeany of the following: a point to point network, a broadcast network, awide area network, a local area network, a telecommunications network, adata communication network, a computer network, an ATM (AsynchronousTransfer Mode) network, a SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) network, aSDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) network, a wireless network and awireline network. In some embodiments, the network 104 may comprise awireless link, such as an infrared channel or satellite band. Thetopology of the network 104 may be a bus, star, or ring networktopology. The network 104 may be of any such network topology as knownto those ordinarily skilled in the art capable of supporting theoperations described herein. The network may comprise mobile telephonenetworks utilizing any protocol or protocols used to communicate amongmobile devices, including AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, GSM, GPRS or UMTS. In someembodiments, different types of data may be transmitted via differentprotocols. In other embodiments, the same types of data may betransmitted via different protocols.

In some embodiments, the system may include multiple, logically-groupedremote machines 106. In one of these embodiments, the logical group ofremote machines may be referred to as a server farm 38. In another ofthese embodiments, the remote machines 106 may be geographicallydispersed. In other embodiments, a server farm 38 may be administered asa single entity. In still other embodiments, the server farm 38comprises a plurality of server farms 38. The remote machines 106 withineach server farm 38 can be heterogeneous—one or more of the remotemachines 106 can operate according to one type of operating systemplatform (e.g., WINDOWS NT, WINDOWS 2003, WINDOWS 2008, WINDOWS 7 andWINDOWS Server 2008R2, all of which are manufactured by Microsoft Corp.of Redmond, Wash.), while one or more of the other remote machines 106can operate on according to another type of operating system platform(e.g., Unix or Linux).

The remote machines 106 of each server farm 38 do not need to bephysically proximate to another remote machine 106 in the same serverfarm 38. Thus, the group of remote machines 106 logically grouped as aserver farm 38 may be interconnected using a wide-area network (WAN)connection or a metropolitan-area network (MAN) connection. For example,a server farm 38 may include remote machines 106 physically located indifferent continents or different regions of a continent, country,state, city, campus, or room. Data transmission speeds between remotemachines 106 in the server farm 38 can be increased if the remotemachines 106 are connected using a local-area network (LAN) connectionor some form of direct connection.

A remote machine 106 may be a file server, application server, webserver, proxy server, appliance, network appliance, gateway, applicationgateway, gateway server, virtualization server, deployment server, SSLVPN server, or firewall. In some embodiments, a remote machine 106provides a remote authentication dial-in user service, and is referredto as a RADIUS server. In other embodiments, a remote machine 106 mayhave the capacity to function as either an application server or as amaster application server. In still other embodiments, a remote machine106 is a blade server. In yet other embodiments, a remote machine 106executes a virtual machine providing, to a user or client computer 102,access to a computing environment.

In one embodiment, a remote machine 106 may include an Active Directory.The remote machine 106 may be an application acceleration appliance. Forembodiments in which the remote machine 106 is an applicationacceleration appliance, the remote machine 106 may provide functionalityincluding firewall functionality, application firewall functionality, orload balancing functionality. In some embodiments, the remote machine106 comprises an appliance such as one of the line of appliancesmanufactured by the Citrix Application Networking Group, of San Jose,Calif., or Silver Peak Systems, Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., or ofRiverbed Technology, Inc., of San Francisco, Calif., or of F5 Networks,Inc., of Seattle, Wash., or of Juniper Networks, Inc., of Sunnyvale,Calif.

In some embodiments, a remote machine 106 executes an application onbehalf of a user of a local machine 102. In other embodiments, a remotemachine 106 executes a virtual machine, which provides an executionsession within which applications execute on behalf of a user of a localmachine 102. In one of these embodiments, the execution session is ahosted desktop session. In another of these embodiments, the executionsession provides access to a computing environment, which may compriseone or more of: an application, a plurality of applications, a desktopapplication, and a desktop session in which one or more applications mayexecute.

In some embodiments, a local machine 102 communicates with a remotemachine 106. In one embodiment, the local machine 102 communicatesdirectly with one of the remote machines 106 in a server farm 38. Inanother embodiment, the local machine 102 executes a programneighborhood application to communicate with a remote machine 106 in aserver farm 38. In still another embodiment, the remote machine 106provides the functionality of a master node. In some embodiments, thelocal machine 102 communicates with the remote machine 106 in the serverfarm 38 through a network 104. Over the network 104, the local machine102 can, for example, request execution of various applications hostedby the remote machines 106 a-106 n in the server farm 38 and receiveoutput of the results of the application execution for display. In someembodiments, only a master node provides the functionality required toidentify and provide address information associated with a remotemachine 106 b hosting a requested application.

In one embodiment, the remote machine 106 provides the functionality ofa web server. In another embodiment, the remote machine 106 a receivesrequests from the local machine 102, forwards the requests to a secondremote machine 106 b and responds to the request by the local machine102 with a response to the request from the remote machine 106 b. Instill another embodiment, the remote machine 106 a acquires anenumeration of applications available to the local machine 102 andaddress information associated with a remote machine 106 b hosting anapplication identified by the enumeration of applications. In yetanother embodiment, the remote machine 106 presents the response to therequest to the local machine 102 using a web interface. In oneembodiment, the local machine 102 communicates directly with the remotemachine 106 to access the identified application. In another embodiment,the local machine 102 receives output data, such as display data,generated by an execution of the identified application on the remotemachine 106.

In some embodiments, the remote machine 106 or a server farm 38 may berunning one or more applications, such as an application providing athin-client computing or remote display presentation application. In oneembodiment, the remote machine 106 or server farm 38 executes as anapplication any portion of the CITRIX ACCESS SUITE by Citrix Systems,Inc., such as the METAFRAME or CITRIX PRESENTATION SERVER products, anyof the following products manufactured by Citrix Systems, Inc.: CITRIXXENAPP, CITRIX XENDESKTOP, CITRIX ACCESS GATEWAY, and/or any of theMICROSOFT WINDOWS Terminal Services manufactured by the MicrosoftCorporation. In another embodiment, the application is an ICA client,developed by Citrix Systems, Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In stillanother embodiment, the remote machine 106 may run an application,which, for example, may be an application server providing emailservices such as MICROSOFT EXCHANGE manufactured by the MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond, Wash., a web or Internet server, or a desktopsharing server, or a collaboration server. In yet another embodiment,any of the applications may comprise any type of hosted service orproducts, such as GOTOMEETING provided by Citrix Online Division, Inc.of Santa Barbara, Calif., WEBEX provided by WebEx, Inc. of Santa Clara,Calif., or Microsoft Office LIVE MEETING provided by MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond, Wash.

A local machine 102 may execute, operate or otherwise provide anapplication, which can be any type and/or form of software, program, orexecutable instructions such as any type and/or form of web browser,web-based client, client-server application, a thin-client computingclient, an ActiveX control, or a Java applet, or any other type and/orform of executable instructions capable of executing on local machine102. In some embodiments, the application may be a server-based or aremote-based application executed on behalf of the local machine 102 ona remote machine 106. In other embodiments, the remote machine 106 maydisplay output to the local machine 102 using any thin-client protocol,presentation layer protocol, or remote-display protocol, such as theIndependent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocol manufactured by CitrixSystems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; the X11protocol; the Virtual Network Computing (VNC) protocol, manufactured byAT&T Bell Labs; the SPICE protocol, manufactured by Qumranet, Inc., ofSunnyvale, Calif., USA, and of Raanana, Israel; the Net2Displayprotocol, manufactured by VESA, of Milpitas, Calif.; the PC-over-IPprotocol, manufactured by Teradici Corporation, of Burnaby, B.C.; theTCX protocol, manufactured by Wyse Technology, Inc., of San Jose,Calif.; the THINC protocol developed by Columbia University in the Cityof New York, of New York, N.Y.; or the Virtual-D protocols manufacturedby Desktone, Inc., of Chelmsford, Mass. The application can use any typeof protocol and it can be, for example, an HTTP client, an FTP client,an Oscar client, or a Telnet client. In still other embodiments, theapplication comprises any type of software related to voice overInternet protocol (VoIP) communications, such as a soft IP telephone. Infurther embodiments, the application comprises any application relatedto real-time data communications, such as applications for streamingvideo and/or audio. In other embodiments, the application comprises anyapplication related to computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aidedmanufacturing (CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE), productlife-cycle management (PLM), project management, resource management,customer relationship management (CRM), or any other application for thegeneration, modification, modeling, and/or analysis of data.

The local machine 102 and remote machine 106 may be deployed as and/orexecuted on any type and form of computing device, such as a computer,network device or appliance capable of communicating on any type andform of network and performing the operations described herein. FIGS. 1Band 1C depict block diagrams of a computing device 100 useful forpracticing an embodiment of the local machine 102 or a remote machine106. As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, each computing device 100 includes acentral processing unit 121, and a main memory unit 122. As shown inFIG. 1B, a computing device 100 may include a storage device 128, aninstallation device 116, a network interface 118, an I/O controller 123,display devices 124 a-n, a keyboard 126 and a pointing device 127, suchas a mouse. The storage device 128 may include, without limitation, anoperating system, software, and a client agent 120. As shown in FIG. 1C,each computing device 100 may also include additional optional elements,such as a memory port 103, a bridge 170, one or more input/outputdevices 130 a-130 n (generally referred to using reference numeral 130),and a cache memory 140 in communication with the central processing unit121.

The central processing unit 121 is any logic circuitry that responds toand processes instructions fetched from the main memory unit 122. Inmany embodiments, the central processing unit 121 is provided by amicroprocessor unit, such as: those manufactured by Intel Corporation ofMountain View, Calif.; those manufactured by Motorola Corporation ofSchaumburg, Ill.; those manufactured by Transmeta Corporation of SantaClara, Calif.; the RS/6000 processor, those manufactured byInternational Business Machines of White Plains, N.Y.; or thosemanufactured by Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale, Calif. Thecomputing device 100 may be based on any of these processors, or anyother processor capable of operating as described herein.

Main memory unit 122 may be one or more memory chips capable of storingdata and allowing any storage location to be directly accessed by themicroprocessor 121, such as Static random access memory (SRAM), BurstSRAM or SynchBurst SRAM (BSRAM), Dynamic random access memory (DRAM),Fast Page Mode DRAM (FPM DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM), Extended DataOutput RAM (EDO RAM), Extended Data Output DRAM (EDO DRAM), BurstExtended Data Output DRAM (BEDO DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), JEDEC SRAM, PC100 SDRAM, Double Data RateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), SyncLink DRAM (SLDRAM),Direct Rambus DRAM (DRDRAM), or Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM). The mainmemory 122 may be based on any of the above described memory chips, orany other available memory chips capable of operating as describedherein. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, the processor 121communicates with main memory 122 via a system bus 150 (described inmore detail below). FIG. 1C depicts an embodiment of a computing device100 in which the processor communicates directly with main memory 122via a memory port 103. For example, in FIG. 1C the main memory 122 maybe DRDRAM.

FIG. 1C depicts an embodiment in which the main processor 121communicates directly with cache memory 140 via a secondary bus,sometimes referred to as a backside bus. In other embodiments, the mainprocessor 121 communicates with cache memory 140 using the system bus150. Cache memory 140 typically has a faster response time than mainmemory 122 and is typically provided by SRAM, BSRAM, or EDRAM. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 1B, the processor 121 communicates with variousI/O devices 130 via a local system bus 150. Various buses may be used toconnect the central processing unit 121 to any of the I/O devices 130,including a VESA VL bus, an ISA bus, an EISA bus, a MicroChannelArchitecture (MCA) bus, a PCI bus, a PCI-X bus, a PCI-Express bus, or aNuBus. For embodiments in which the I/O device is a video display 124,the processor 121 may use an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) to communicatewith the display 124. FIG. 1C depicts an embodiment of a computer 100 inwhich the main processor 121 communicates directly with I/O device 130 bvia HYPERTRANSPORT, RAPIDIO, or INFINIBAND communications technology.FIG. 1C also depicts an embodiment in which local busses and directcommunication are mixed: the processor 121 communicates with I/O device130 a using a local interconnect bus while communicating with I/O device130 b directly.

A wide variety of I/O devices 130 a-130 n may be present in thecomputing device 100. Input devices include keyboards, mice, trackpads,trackballs, microphones, and drawing tablets. Output devices includevideo displays, speakers, inkjet printers, laser printers, anddye-sublimation printers. An I/O controller 123, as shown in FIG. 1B,may control the I/O devices. The I/O controller may control one or moreI/O devices such as a keyboard 126 and a pointing device 127, e.g., amouse or optical pen. Furthermore, an I/O device may also providestorage and/or an installation medium 116 for the computing device 100.In still other embodiments, the computing device 100 may provide USBconnections (not shown) to receive handheld USB storage devices such asthe USB Flash Drive line of devices manufactured by Twintech Industry,Inc. of Los Alamitos, Calif.

Referring again to FIG. 1B, the computing device 100 may support anysuitable installation device 116, such as a floppy disk drive forreceiving floppy disks such as 3.5-inch, 5.25-inch disks or ZIP disks, aCD-ROM drive, a CD-R/RW drive, a DVD-ROM drive, tape drives of variousformats, USB device, hard-drive or any other device suitable forinstalling software and programs. The computing device 100 may furthercomprise a storage device, such as one or more hard disk drives orredundant arrays of independent disks, for storing an operating systemand other related software, and for storing application softwareprograms such as any program related to the client agent 120.Optionally, any of the installation devices 116 could also be used asthe storage device. Additionally, the operating system and the softwarecan be run from a bootable medium, for example, a bootable CD, such asKNOPPIX, a bootable CD for GNU/Linux that is available as a GNU/Linuxdistribution from knoppix.net.

Furthermore, the computing device 100 may include a network interface118 to interface to the network 104 through a variety of connectionsincluding, but not limited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WANlinks (e.g., 802.11, T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25, SNA, DECNET), broadbandconnections (e.g., ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM, Gigabit Ethernet,Ethernet-over-SONET), wireless connections, or some combination of anyor all of the above. Connections can be established using a variety ofcommunication protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, IPX, SPX, NetBIOS, Ethernet,ARCNET, SONET, SDH, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), RS232, IEEE802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, CDMA, GSM, WiMax anddirect asynchronous connections). In one embodiment, the computingdevice 100 communicates with other computing devices 100′ via any typeand/or form of gateway or tunneling protocol such as Secure Socket Layer(SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS), or the Citrix Gateway Protocolmanufactured by Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The networkinterface 118 may comprise a built-in network adapter, network interfacecard, PCMCIA network card, card bus network adapter, wireless networkadapter, USB network adapter, modem or any other device suitable forinterfacing the computing device 100 to any type of network capable ofcommunication and performing the operations described herein.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 may comprise or beconnected to multiple display devices 124 a-124 n, which each may be ofthe same or different type and/or form. As such, any of the I/O devices130 a-130 n and/or the I/O controller 123 may comprise any type and/orform of suitable hardware, software, or combination of hardware andsoftware to support, enable or provide for the connection and use ofmultiple display devices 124 a-124 n by the computing device 100. Forexample, the computing device 100 may include any type and/or form ofvideo adapter, video card, driver, and/or library to interface,communicate, connect or otherwise use the display devices 124 a-124 n.In one embodiment, a video adapter may comprise multiple connectors tointerface to multiple display devices 124 a-124 n. In other embodiments,the computing device 100 may include multiple video adapters, with eachvideo adapter connected to one or more of the display devices 124 a-124n. In some embodiments, any portion of the operating system of thecomputing device 100 may be configured for using multiple displays 124a-124 n. In other embodiments, one or more of the display devices 124a-124 n may be provided by one or more other computing devices, such ascomputing devices 100 a and 100 b connected to the computing device 100,for example, via a network. These embodiments may include any type ofsoftware designed and constructed to use another computer's displaydevice as a second display device 124 a for the computing device 100.One ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize and appreciate thevarious ways and embodiments that a computing device 100 may beconfigured to have multiple display devices 124 a-124 n.

In further embodiments, an I/O device 130 may be a bridge between thesystem bus 150 and an external communication bus, such as a USB bus, anApple Desktop Bus, an RS-232 serial connection, a SCSI bus, a FireWirebus, a FireWire 800 bus, an Ethernet bus, an AppleTalk bus, a GigabitEthernet bus, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode bus, a HIPPI bus, a SuperHIPPI bus, a SerialPlus bus, a SCI/LAMP bus, a FibreChannel bus, or aSerial Attached small computer system interface bus.

A computing device 100 of the sort depicted in FIGS. 1B and 1C typicallyoperates under the control of operating systems, which controlscheduling of tasks and access to system resources. The computing device100 can be running any operating system such as any of the versions ofthe MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating systems, the different releases of theUnix and Linux operating systems, any version of the MAC OS forMacintosh computers, any embedded operating system, any real-timeoperating system, any open source operating system, any proprietaryoperating system, any operating systems for mobile computing devices, orany other operating system capable of running on the computing deviceand performing the operations described herein. Typical operatingsystems include, but are not limited to: WINDOWS 3.x, WINDOWS 95,WINDOWS 98, WINDOWS 2000, WINDOWS NT 3.51, WINDOWS NT 4.0, WINDOWS 7,WINDOWS CE, WINDOWS XP, and WINDOWS VISTA, all of which are manufacturedby Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; MAC OS, manufactured byApple Inc., of Cupertino, Calif.; OS/2, manufactured by InternationalBusiness Machines of Armonk, N.Y.; and Linux, a freely-availableoperating system distributed by Caldera Corp. of Salt Lake City, Utah,or any type and/or form of a Unix operating system, among others.

The computing device 100 can be any workstation, desktop computer,laptop or notebook computer, server, handheld computer, mobile telephoneor other portable telecommunication device, media playing device, agaming system, mobile computing device, or any other type and/or form ofcomputing, telecommunications or media device that is capable ofcommunication and that has sufficient processor power and memorycapacity to perform the operations described herein. For example, thecomputing device 100 may comprise a device of the IPOD family of devicesmanufactured by Apple Inc., of Cupertino, Calif., a PLAYSTATION 2,PLAYSTATION 3, or PERSONAL PLAYSTATION PORTABLE (PSP) devicemanufactured by the Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, a NINTENDO DS,NINTENDO GAMEBOY, NINTENDO GAMEBOY ADVANCED or NINTENDO REVOLUTIONdevice manufactured by Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, or an XBOXor XBOX 360 device manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond,Wash.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 may have differentprocessors, operating systems, and input devices consistent with thedevice. For example, in one embodiment, the computing device 100 is aTREO 180, 270, 600, 650, 680, 700p, 700w/wx, 750, 755p, 800w, Centro, orPro smart phone manufactured by Palm, Inc. In some of these embodiments,the TREO smart phone is operated under the control of the PalmOSoperating system and includes a stylus input device as well as afive-way navigator device.

In other embodiments the computing device 100 is a mobile device, suchas a JAVA-enabled cellular telephone or personal digital assistant(PDA), such as the i55sr, i58sr, i85s, i88s, i90c, i95c1, i335, i365,i570, 1576, i580, i615, i760, i836, i850, i870, i880, i920, i930, ic502,ic602, ic902, i776 or the im1100, all of which are manufactured byMotorola Corp. of Schaumburg, Ill., the 6035 or the 7135, manufacturedby Kyocera of Kyoto, Japan, or the i300 or i330, manufactured by SamsungElectronics Co., Ltd., of Seoul, Korea. In some embodiments, thecomputing device 100 is a mobile device manufactured by Nokia ofFinland, or by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB of Lund, Sweden.

In still other embodiments, the computing device 100 is a Blackberryhandheld or smart phone, such as the devices manufactured by Research InMotion Limited, including the Blackberry 7100 series, 8700 series, 7700series, 7200 series, the Blackberry 7520, the Blackberry PEARL 8100, the8700 series, the 8800 series, the Blackberry Storm, Blackberry Bold,Blackberry Curve 8900, and the Blackberry Pearl Flip. In yet otherembodiments, the computing device 100 is a smart phone, Pocket PC,Pocket PC Phone, or other handheld mobile device supporting MicrosoftWindows Mobile Software. Moreover, the computing device 100 can be anyworkstation, desktop computer, laptop or notebook computer, server,handheld computer, mobile telephone, any other computer, or other formof computing or telecommunications device that is capable ofcommunication and that has sufficient processor power and memorycapacity to perform the operations described herein.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 is a digital audio player.In one of these embodiments, the computing device 100 is a digital audioplayer such as the Apple IPOD, IPOD Touch, IPOD NANO, and IPOD SHUFFLElines of devices, manufactured by Apple Inc., of Cupertino, Calif. Inanother of these embodiments, the digital audio player may function asboth a portable media player and as a mass storage device. In otherembodiments, the computing device 100 is a digital audio player such asthe DigitalAudioPlayer Select MP3 players, manufactured by SamsungElectronics America, of Ridgefield Park, N.J., or the Motorola m500 orm25 Digital Audio Players, manufactured by Motorola Inc. of Schaumburg,Ill. In still other embodiments, the computing device 100 is a portablemedia player, such as the Zen Vision W, the Zen Vision series, the ZenPortable Media Center devices, or the Digital MP3 line of MP3 players,manufactured by Creative Technologies Ltd. In yet other embodiments, thecomputing device 100 is a portable media player or digital audio playersupporting file formats including, but not limited to, MP3, WAV,M4A/AAC, WMA Protected AAC, AIFF, Audible audiobook, Apple Losslessaudio file formats and .mov, .m4v, and .mp4 MPEG-4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC)video file formats.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 comprises a combination ofdevices, such as a mobile phone combined with a digital audio player orportable media player. In one of these embodiments, the computing device100 is a Motorola RAZR or Motorola ROKR line of combination digitalaudio players and mobile phones. In another of these embodiments, thecomputing device 100 is a device in the iPhone line of smartphones,manufactured by Apple Inc., of Cupertino, Calif.

In one embodiment, a computing device 102 a may request resources from aremote machine 106, while providing the functionality of a remotemachine 106 to a client 102 b. In such an embodiment, the computingdevice 102 a may be referred to as a client with respect to datareceived from the remote machine 106 (which may be referred to as aserver) and the computing device 102 a may be referred to as a serverwith respect to the second client 102 b. In another embodiment, theclient 102 may request resources from the remote machine 106 on behalfof a user of the client 102.

As shown in FIG. 1D, the computing device 100 may comprise multipleprocessors and may provide functionality for simultaneous execution ofinstructions or for simultaneous execution of one instruction on morethan one piece of data. In some embodiments, the computing device 100may comprise a parallel processor with one or more cores. In one ofthese embodiments, the computing device 100 is a shared memory paralleldevice, with multiple processors and/or multiple processor cores,accessing all available memory as a single global address space. Inanother of these embodiments, the computing device 100 is a distributedmemory parallel device with multiple processors each accessing localmemory only. In still another of these embodiments, the computing device100 has both some memory which is shared and some memory which can onlybe accessed by particular processors or subsets of processors. In stilleven another of these embodiments, the computing device 100, such as amulticore microprocessor, combines two or more independent processorsinto a single package, often a single integrated circuit (IC). In yetanother of these embodiments, the computing device 100 includes a chiphaving a CELL BROADBAND ENGINE architecture and including a Powerprocessor element and a plurality of synergistic processing elements,the Power processor element and the plurality of synergistic processingelements linked together by an internal high speed bus, which may bereferred to as an element interconnect bus.

In some embodiments, the processors provide functionality for executionof a single instruction simultaneously on multiple pieces of data(SIMD). In other embodiments, the processors provide functionality forexecution of multiple instructions simultaneously on multiple pieces ofdata (MIMD). In still other embodiments, the processor may use anycombination of SIMD and MIMD cores in a single device.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 may comprise a graphicsprocessing unit. In one of these embodiments, depicted in FIG. 1E, thecomputing device 100 includes at least one central processing unit 121and at least one graphics processing unit. In another of theseembodiments, the computing device 100 includes at least one parallelprocessing unit and at least one graphics processing unit. In stillanother of these embodiments, the computing device 100 includes aplurality of processing units of any type, one of the plurality ofprocessing units comprising a graphics processing unit.

In one embodiment, a resource may be a program, an application, adocument, a file, a plurality of applications, a plurality of files, anexecutable program file, a desktop environment, a computing environment,or other resource made available to a user of the local computing device102. The resource may be delivered to the local computing device 102 viaa plurality of access methods including, but not limited to,conventional installation directly on the local computing device 102,delivery to the local computing device 102 via a method for applicationstreaming, delivery to the local computing device 102 of output datagenerated by an execution of the resource on a third computing device106 b and communicated to the local computing device 102 via apresentation layer protocol, delivery to the local computing device 102of output data generated by an execution of the resource via a virtualmachine executing on a remote computing device 106, or execution from aremovable storage device connected to the local computing device 102,such as a USB device, or via a virtual machine executing on the localcomputing device 102 and generating output data. In some embodiments,the local computing device 102 transmits output data generated by theexecution of the resource to another client computing device 102 b.

In some embodiments, a user of a local computing device 102 connects toa remote computing device 106 and views a display on the local computingdevice 102 of a local version of a remote desktop environment,comprising a plurality of data objects, generated on the remotecomputing device 106. In one of these embodiments, at least one resourceis provided to the user by the remote computing device 106 (or by asecond remote computing device 106 b) and displayed in the remotedesktop environment. However, there may be resources that the userexecutes on the local computing device 102, either by choice, or due toa policy or technological requirement. In another of these embodiments,the user of the local computing device 102 would prefer an integrateddesktop environment providing access to all of the resources availableto the user, instead of separate desktop environments for resourcesprovided by separate machines. For example, a user may find navigatingbetween multiple graphical displays confusing and difficult to useproductively. Or, a user may wish to use the data generated by oneapplication provided by one machine in conjunction with another resourceprovided by a different machine. In still another of these embodiments,requests for execution of a resource, windowing moves, applicationminimize/maximize, resizing windows, and termination of executingresources may be controlled by interacting with a remote desktopenvironment that integrates the display of the remote resources and ofthe local resources. In yet another of these embodiments, an applicationor other resource accessible via an integrated desktopenvironment—including those resources executed on the local computingdevice 102 and those executed on the remote computing device 106—isshown in a single desktop environment.

In one embodiment, data objects from a remote computing device 106 areintegrated into a desktop environment generated by the local computingdevice 102. In another embodiment, the remote computing device 106maintains the integrated desktop. In still another embodiment, the localcomputing device 102 maintains the integrated desktop.

In some embodiments, a single remote desktop environment 204 isdisplayed. In one of these embodiments, the remote desktop environment204 is displayed as a full-screen desktop. In other embodiments, aplurality of remote desktop environments 204 is displayed. In one ofthese embodiments, one or more of the remote desktop environments aredisplayed in non-full-screen mode on one or more display devices 124. Inanother of these embodiments, the remote desktop environments aredisplayed in full-screen mode on individual display devices. In stillanother of these embodiments, one or more of the remote desktopenvironments are displayed in full-screen mode on one or more displaydevices 124.

B. Systems and Methods for Using a Direct Computer-Aided Design ModelingUser Interface for Creating and Modifying a Parametric Computer-AidedDesign Model

Two approaches for developing three-dimensional designs are currentlywidely used: direct and parametric computer-aided design (CAD) modeling.Both approaches have some inherent advantages and disadvantages, andaccordingly, users have typically selected one approach or the otherdepending on application.

In brief, direct modeling allows for easy and quick creation ofthree-dimensional designs, and modification through direct, on-the-flyinteractions with the model geometry. Results are displayed in anintuitive what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) format. As a result,direct modeling is easy to learn and allows for fast creation of complexmodels. For example, referring to FIG. 2A, shown is a block diagram ofan embodiment of creation of a chamfered three-dimensional objectthrough direct modeling. A user may create a two-dimensional square andpull the square into a three-dimensional cube. The user may also createanother three-dimensional prism, oriented at a 45 degree diagonal to thecube. The user may then position the prism overlapping a corner of thecube, and perform a Boolean subtraction to create a chamfered edge.Other methods of creating chamfers exist, including adding constructionlines along the top and side faces, diagonal construction lines alongthe front and back faces, and subtracting the region bounded by theselines.

In direct modeling, geometric manipulations are performed directly onthe model. Accordingly, engineers need not consider design intent andassociations of elements. This may allow for rapid development cyclesand quick creation of custom or one-off products, as well asconstruction of very large, highly detailed assemblies: because the CADsystem need not store relationships between entities and calculaterelative geometry, models can take up less space in memory, andperformance may be much faster because only graphics information needsto be calculated, and no model dependencies must be calculated andsolved.

In parametric modeling, sometimes referred to as associative parametricmodeling, feature-based modeling, or history-based modeling, geometry iscreated through a two-step process. The user defines geometryconstruction recipes through the use of feature constructs, includingextrusions, holes, cuts, fillets, chamfers, rounds, and others. Theparametric geometry engine interprets these recipes and creates thegeometry of the model for display by a modeling and/or display engine.These recipes may sometimes be referred to as feature histories, and maycomprise a sequence of the different combinations of features utilizedin modeling a final modeled object as the modeled object is designed.

For example, shown in FIG. 2B is a block diagram of an embodiment ofcreation of a chamfered three-dimensional object through parametricmodeling. A user first defines a square through associations of multipleedges. In some embodiments, as shown, edges may be defined through anassociation of two vertices, while in other embodiments, edges may bedefined through relative position, size and angle to another edge; by avertex, and length and direction of a vector; or by any other means. Insome embodiments, the user may sketch the square, and the parametricgeometry engine may interpret the geometry as an association of edgesand vertices.

The user then defines an extrusion of the square along a directionperpendicular to the face of the object. In some embodiments, the lengthof the extrusion may be defined by another vertex, an explicit length,or by any other means. Finally, in the embodiment shown, the usercreates a chamfer by defining the chamfer in terms of an object, edge,and depth. At one or more steps in the process, a modeling or displayengine interprets the instruction list or recipe to create the displayedmodel.

Unlike direct modeling, because parametric modeling stores an order ofoperations or history, relationships between features may be defined.Accordingly, changing the order of features in the recipe may havedramatic effects on the model, unlike in direct modeling, where theorder of element creation is irrelevant. However, this approach allows auser to edit an earlier feature in the instruction list, and thegeometry engine will recalculate the effects through the model. Forexample, in a parametric CAD modeler, if a user creates an extrudedplate and defines a hole as centered on the midpoint of an axis of theplate and later changes the dimensions of the plate, the geometry enginemay move the hole to remain centered on the midpoint. However, in adirect CAD modeler, stretching a face of the plate after placing thehole may result in the hole not moving and being located off-center.

In another example, angular relationships may be defined in parametricCAD modelers, such as a line being defined as perpendicular to a tangentof a circle, i.e. in a direction along a line through the center of thecircle and the tangent point. If the position of the circle is modified,the angle or position of the line may be correspondingly modified.However, in a direct CAD modeler, because this history is notmaintained, moving the circle may result in no change to position orangle of the line, causing it to no longer be perpendicular to thecircle.

Although referred to herein as direct modeling, this technique issometimes called explicit modeling. One of skill in the art canappreciate that, regardless of the term used, direct or explicitmodeling is a geometry-based paradigm for direct manipulation ofgeometry, agnostic or ignorant of design intent, history, andassociative relationships. Direct modeling should not be confused withdirect design manipulation, which refers to manually pushing, pulling,or modifying geometry as opposed to entering data into a dialog box toedit geometry, sometimes referred to as indirect design manipulation.Direct design manipulation and indirect, or dialog box, designmanipulation thus refer to methods of inputting data in a userinterface; while direct or explicit modeling and parametric modelingthus refer to a modeling paradigm.

Due to the added complexity of parametric CAD modeling, the learningcurve for a user is often steeper. However, automation may be used tocontrol modifications to model elements, allowing the creation of manydifferent variations on a single design.

Combining direct and parametric modelers is difficult, becauseparametric modeling relies on regeneration of a history-basedconstruction recipe, while direct modeling relies only on the geometrydirectly created by the user and ignores order of creation. Accordingly,the different methods require different underlying architecture. Priorattempts at interoperability of direct and parametric modelers haverelied on importing and translation of models. However, because of thearchitectural differences, these translations result in losses ofinformation: history and associative relationships are lost whenimporting a parametric model into a direct modeler, and productmanufacturing information is lost when a geometry-based direct model isimported into a parametric model. For example, annotations or labels ona model in a direct modeling user interface, such as notes regardingmachining of surfaces, paint types or colors, or manufacturingprocesses, do not correspond to features. Because many translators onlyconsider the geometry of the model, these annotations may be lost whenconverting a direct model to a parametric model. Similarly, engineeringassociations between a plurality of surfaces or features in a parametricdesign, such as a hole axially overlapping another hole to form acounterbore hole, may be lost when converted to a direct model.Accordingly, a user of a typical direct modeler may modify a position ofthe overlapping hole without moving the bolt hole, breaking theassociation.

Additionally, losses of geometric fidelity can occur during transfers.For example, due to truncation or rounding of position data, an objectthat may be constrained to contact with a second object in a parametricmodeler may be placed slightly apart from the second object whenimported into a direct modeler.

In one aspect of the present invention, a direct modeling user interfaceis used for editing a model, allowing intuitive and easy manipulation ofgeometry, and a parametric geometry engine interprets thesemanipulations as history-based features to create a construction recipe.Thus, the underlying architecture of the model remains parametric, buteven though the user may not realize that history and associativerelationships are being created and modified during every manipulation.Accordingly, the present invention provides the intuitive WYSIWYGediting of direct CAD modeling, while retaining the powerful featuresand regenerative capabilities of parametric modelers.

In one embodiment, the parametric geometry engine can recognize variousdirect modeling manipulations by mapping simple manipulations totraditional features. For example, pulling a face of an object may bemapped to an extrusion, pushing a subsection of a face may be mapped toa hole, a follow-me type extrusion may be mapped to a sweep, etc.However, many direct modeling manipulations are not interpretable astraditional parametric history-based features, such as moving a surfacein such a way that the topology of the surrounding geometry has tochange. For example, while it may be easy to interpret a square pulledinto a cube as an extruded face, rotating the top face to form a twistedprism may be difficult to interpret parametrically. Similarly, a firstfigure can be swept along a curved edge and recognized as a sweepfeature, but if the curved edge is then modified, a parametricassociation between the edge and the sweep may be broken.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, the parametric geometry engine may mapthese non-traditional features to a non-traditional, “flexible” feature,termed a flex move feature. A flex move feature may comprise aparametric feature or a combination of parametric features orsub-features, and may be placed in a parametric history or recipe likeany other feature. The flex move feature may be a child of a priorfeature or have other dependencies, and later features may be childrenof the flex move feature. In one embodiment, the flex move feature maycomprise an ordered set of rigid translations and rotations of a set ofentities or surfaces, a set of modifiable dimensions, or a set ofassembly constraints that fully define the position and orientation ofthe geometry selection.

In a further embodiment, the flex move feature may indicate to deletegeometry from a position prior to the ordered translations or rotations.For example, in one embodiment in which a first object intersecting asecond object along an intersection line is moved away from the secondobject, the flex move feature may cause the parametric geometry engineto delete the intersection line after the move. This prevents geometrycaused by the prior location of the moved entity from leaving artifactsbehind. In a still further embodiment, the flex move feature mayindicate to close openings left in surfaces or edges or other solidentities due to the deletion or movement of the geometry. For example,moving an object from a prior position intersecting a second solidobject may result in a hole being left in a surface of the second solidobject. The flex move feature may cause the parametric geometry engineto close this hole. In some embodiments, the flex move feature may acton a surface, a collection of surfaces within a solid geometricalentity, or a collection of surfaces belonging to a quilt. In otherembodiments, the flex move feature may act on planes, axes, points,complex systems, or combinations of any of these.

In a further embodiment, movement of geometric entities may cause theparametric geometry engine to create or modify the geometry of the movedentities or neighboring entities to re-attach the moved entities to themodel. For instance, moving an edge to a position apart from a surfacemay cause the parametric geometry entity to extend the edge and/orsurface, create tangent lines of curves, or create non-tangentialstraight lines to reconnect and close the intervening space in a solidsurface or object.

In a similar embodiment, the parametric geometry engine may map anon-traditional feature to a new feature termed a flex move copyfeature, or sometimes a flex copy feature. The flex move copy featuremay comprise a parametric feature similar to a flex move feature,identifying translations and rotations of geometric entities, butwithout deleting geometry from the prior position of the entities.

In many embodiments, flex move and flex move copy features may be placedin a parametric feature history. In one embodiment, these features maybe placed as dependent or child features of the geometry on which theyact. In a further embodiment, further modifications to the moved orcopied geometry, including traditional features such as extrusions,revolves, sweeps, or others, or further moves or copies, may be createdas dependent or child features of the flex feature. Accordingly, thisallows the parametric geometry engine to properly regenerate andrecalculate geometry as a user makes changes throughout the parametricrecipe.

In some embodiments, the parametric geometry engine may maprelationships created in the direct modeling user interface toparametric features. For example, in one such embodiment, a user maycreate a symmetric or mirrored copy of a geometric entity or entities.The parametric geometry engine may interpret this as creation of aflexible symmetric feature. A flexible symmetric feature may comprise agroup header feature for a plurality of symmetric or mirrored entities,and an identification of a plane of symmetry. Because of the associationbetween the entities in the parametric feature list, the parametricengine may later apply an edit to one entity to the symmetric ormirrored entity automatically during recalculation or regeneration. Thisfrequently cannot be done with systems that import and translate directmodels into parametric systems, because without knowledge of theexplicit step of mirroring that was performed during the direct modelediting, these parametric systems do not know to constrain an object orset of objects to be symmetric or mirrored to a second object or set ofobjects, and may simply interpret the second object or set of objects asnew, unassociated (but coincidentally similar) objects. In otherembodiments, the parametric geometry engine may interpret the symmetricor mirrored entities as a traditional mirror feature.

In a similar embodiment, the user may create a pattern of geometricentities, such as a pattern of evenly spaced holes around a disc. Again,systems that simply import and translate direct models into parametricsystems may not be able to interpret these entities as a common patternof holes, and may identify each hole as a distinct and unrelatedfeature. By having knowledge of an explicit pattern creation step in thedirect modeling user interface, the parametric engine of the presentinvention can create a flexible pattern feature. The flexible patternfeature may comprise a group header feature for a plurality of flex movecopy features; or a pattern of related and associated members, such thatmodification to one member propagates the modification to all othermembers. In other embodiments, the parametric geometry engine mayinterpret the pattern of geometric entities as a traditional patternfeature.

As a further result of retaining history and dependencies and using aparametric model for creation and modification of these non-traditionalentities, the user is accorded with the ability to track changes on agranular level. This is unlike traditional methods of importing directmodeling edits into a parametric modeler. In these systems,change-tracking can be performed only by comparing a prior saved stateof the model by the parametric modeler to the imported state of themodel—essentially comparing the entire geometry of a first version of apart to a second version of the part. These systems typically do notallow a user to accept or reject a change to a portion or sub-componentof the part, because the system may lack the ability to remember changeson an individual level. Some versions of these systems allow onlyoverall approval or rejection of the direct modeling edits, while othersmay do limited comparisons to detect traditional features such asextrusions or sweeps and allow some basic subdivisions of edits forapproval or rejection. However, because history and dependencies arelost in these systems, changes cannot be tracked on a granular,individual-edit level. For example, a user may be able to incongruouslyapprove generation of a hole while rejecting the surface in which thehole is cut. In another example, in many embodiments, a designer using aparametric system may arrive at an end geometry for a part through anyof several different operations. Features that are not dependent uponeach other may, in some embodiments, be created in any order—a sweep maybe applied on one part of a model and an extrude on another part, or theextrude may be created first followed by the sweep. The order ofcreation may be representative of the intent of the designer. However,because order is not recorded in a direct modeling system, thisrepresentation of intent may be lost when translating the model betweenparametric and direct systems, even where individual features arerecognized.

Because the system of the present invention acts on a parametricmodeling paradigm at all times, even with a direct modeling userinterface, feature dependencies can be preserved and change tracking canbe performed on an edit-by-edit basis. Accordingly, in one embodiment, auser of a parametric modeling user interface may review, accept, andreject individual changes or modifications made to a model by a user ofa direct modeling user interface without having to import the modelafter each change. In a further embodiment, the user of the parametricmodeling user interface may reject a modification made by the user ofthe direct modeling interface to a first object, and responsive to therejection and a dependent relationship of a second object to the firstobject, the geometry engine may recalculate geometry of the secondobject.

As discussed above, in moving models between direct modeling systems andparametric modeling systems, product manufacturing information may belost. Another result of the system of the present invention is that suchinformation is retained, because no translations are performed movingbetween the direct modeling user interface and parametric modeling userinterface. Labels and annotations are linked to existent features, so noconfusion arises from attempting to link an ambiguous label orannotation from a direct model with no relationships or dependencies toa feature in a parametric model.

Referring now to FIG. 3A, shown is a block diagram of an embodiment of asystem for computer-aided design. In brief overview, a computing device100 may include or connect to storage 128. Although shown internal tocomputing device 100, in many embodiments, storage 128 may comprise anetwork storage device or external storage device. Storage device 128may include one or more models 310, which may include one or moreobjects 312 a and 312 b, referred to generally as objects 312. In someembodiments, an object may comprise one or more features 314 a-314 n(referred to generally as features 314) which may comprise ahistory-based or ordered construction recipe. In one embodiment, a firstfeature may be a child of a second feature, or conversely the secondfeature may be a parent of the first feature. In some embodiments, afeature may be referred to as a child of a parent feature if it isdependent upon the parent feature for some aspect of its geometry orother data. In some embodiments, an object may comprise one or moresub-objects 312′a or 312′b, referred to generally as sub-objects 312′.In some embodiments, a sub-object 312′ may comprise further sub-objectsand/or one or more features 314. Computing device 100 may execute orcommunicate with a CAD application 300.

Still referring to FIG. 3A and in more detail, in one embodiment, acomputing device 100 executes a CAD application 300. Although referredto as a CAD application, in many embodiments, the application maycomprise a CAM application, CAE application, or other application fortwo or three-dimensional design, modeling, or analysis. CAD application300 may comprise a program, application, service, sub-routine, or otherexecutable logic for creating, modifying, analyzing, and modeling two orthree-dimensional geometry. CAD application 300 may be used forengineering, manufacturing, architectural, animation, modeling,artistic, or other design or manufacturing functions.

In many embodiments, CAD application 300 may comprise one or more of ageometry engine 302, a display engine 304, a parametric modeling userinterface (UI) 306, a direct modeling UI 308, a modeling library 316,regeneration instructions 317, and a constraint library 318. In oneembodiment, modeling library 317 may comprise a library, API, or otherdatabase of executable routines to enable the creation and evaluation ofCAD geometry. In some embodiments, modeling library 316 may contain thefeature history and model deltas of a model 310 or object 312. Forexample, as the design process of a modeled object evolves, the featurehistory may be sequentially established and stored by the modelinglibrary 316. In many embodiments, modeling library 316 may be consideredpart of storage 128 and accessed by CAD application 300.

In another embodiment, CAD application 300 may comprise a constraintlibrary 318, which may function in conjunction with the modeling library316. Constraint library 318 may comprise a library of functions forcontrolling the governing dimensions and parameters of a design, drivingthe placement of assembly components and interrelating objects. Forexample, when a project is initiated or during the design process,certain project constraints can be provided for the modeled object.These constraints can include dimensional constraints, materialconstraints, weight constraints, strength constraints, or any other typeof constraints. The constraint library 318 may be used to monitor thedesign process and guide the placement and characteristics of thefeatures as they are added to the modeled object to ensure the finalresult fits within a predetermined specification.

CAD application 300 may also include a library of regenerationinstructions 317, which may work in conjunction with the modelinglibrary 316 and constraint library 318. Regeneration instructions 316may utilize the constraint library 318 to specify the location offeatures and then construct the features specified in the modelinglibrary 316.

The geometry engine 302 of CAD application 300 may comprise an agent,program, service, routine, logic, or other executable functions forexecuting parametric functions and instructions in the libraries316-318. Geometry engine 302 may comprise hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. For example, in one embodiment,geometry engine 302 may comprise dedicated processing units forexecuting CAD functions and features. In one embodiment, geometry engine302 may utilize modeling library 316 as an application programminginterface (API) for generating or recalculating geometry or otherfeatures of a model 310.

CAD application 300 may include a display engine 304. Display engine 304may comprise an agent, program, service, routine, logic, or otherexecutable functions for rendering and outputting or displayingthree-dimensional surfaces and objects. In some embodiments, displayengine 304 may comprise functionality for ray tracing, scan-linerendering, ray-casting, shading, texture mapping, or other functions forgenerating realistic or non-realistic graphics.

In some embodiments, CAD application 300 may include either or both of aparametric modeling UI 306 and a direct modeling UI 308. As discussedabove, parametric modeling user interfaces show a historical recipe orinstruction set of features, and relationships or dependencies betweenthese features. The user is aware of features that they create, andregeneration and dependencies are made obvious and apparent to the user.By contrast, a direct modeling user interface does not display ahistory, recipe or features.

As discussed above, in some embodiments, the user may use a directmodeling UI 308 to interact with geometry of a model, and theinteractions are interpreted by the history-based geometry engine 302 asfeatures. Thus, in these embodiments, a single geometry engine may beused for both the parametric modeling UI and the direct modeling UI.

Furthermore, in some embodiments and as discussed above, because of thehistory recorded by the underlying parametric geometry engine, changesmade in the direct modeling UI can be tracked and undone in theparametric modeling UI on an individual-change basis, which may not bepossible in other systems that let a user interact with a model througha direct modeling UI and engine and then import and translate all of thechanges in a parametric engine at once. Accordingly, different users inan organization can use different paradigms, direct or parametric,without losing any data fidelity as models are passed between differentuser interfaces.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, shown is a flow chart of an embodiment of amethod of computer-aided design. In brief overview, at step 320, a usermay create feature-based geometry of a CAD object using a CADapplication. At step 322, the user may modify geometry of the CAD objectwith a direct modeling user interface (UI). At step 324, the CADapplication may store the modified geometry as feature-based geometry.

Still referring to FIG. 3B and in more detail, in some embodiments atstep 320, a user may use a CAD application executed by a processor of acomputing device to create a recipe of feature-based geometry of a CADobject or model.

At step 322, in some embodiments, the user may use a direct modelinguser interface of the CAD application to modify geometry of the CADobject or model. In some embodiments, the direct modeling user interfacehides history and/or parametric features of the CAD object or model fromthe user. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the user may be unaware that amodification of the CAD object or model in the direct modeling UI maycause creation and/or modification of a parametric CAD object and/ordependencies or relationships with other objects, elements, orcomponents.

At step 324, in one embodiment, the CAD application may store themodified geometry as parametric features or modifications to parametricfeatures of the CAD object. In some embodiments, the CAD application maystore the modified geometry as one or more traditional parametricfeatures, such as sweeps, revolves, holes, cuts, extrudes, or similarfeatures. In other embodiments, the CAD application may store themodified geometry as one or more flexible parametric features, such as aflex move or flex move copy feature. In still other embodiments, the CADapplication may store the modified geometry as a combination oftraditional and flexible parametric features. In many embodiments, theCAD application may store one or more relationships or dependenciesbetween the modified geometry feature or features and one or moreexisting geometry features, such as through a history or tree dependencyrepresentation.

In a further embodiment, the CAD application may regenerate geometrydata of other objects with dependencies on the modified object. Inanother further embodiment, the CAD application may direct a displayengine to render or display regenerated geometry data.

Shown in FIG. 3C is a flow chart of another embodiment of a method ofcomputer-aided design. In brief overview, at step 330, a user may createa first feature of a CAD object using a direct modeling UI of a CADapplication executed by a processor of a computing device. At step 332,the user may create a second, dependent feature of the CAD object usingthe direct modeling UI. At step 334, the user may modify the firstfeature of the CAD object using the direct modeling UI. At step 336, theCAD application may recalculate geometry of the second feature of theCAD application.

Still referring to FIG. 3C and in more detail, at step 330, a user maycreate a first feature of a CAD object using a direct modeling userinterface. As discussed above, in many embodiments, the user may beunaware that they are creating a feature. Instead, an underlyingparametric geometry engine may interpret the user's commands and directmanipulations of geometry in the direct modeling UI as creation andmodification of parametric features.

At step 332, in some embodiments, the user may create a second featureof a CAD object with a dependency on the first feature using the directmodeling user interface. In many embodiments, as discussed above, theuser may be unaware both that they are creating a feature and that theyare creating a feature with a dependent relationship on the firstfeature.

At step 334, in some embodiments, the user may modify the first featureof the CAD object using the direct modeling user interface. As discussedabove, in many embodiments, the user may be unaware that they aremodifying a feature. In other embodiments, the user may modify asurface, edge, vertex or other entity of the CAD object using the directmodeling user interface, without apparently modifying an existing firstfeature or the user being aware that a feature is associated with theentity. Thus, in some embodiments, at step 334, the user may modifygeometry of the first feature using direct modeling user interface.

At step 336, in some embodiments, the CAD application may recalculate orregenerate geometry of the second feature. This may be done responsiveto the user's modification of the first feature. In a furtherembodiment, the CAD application may direct a display engine to render ordisplay the regenerated geometry data.

Referring briefly to FIG. 3D, shown is a flow chart of yet anotherembodiment of a method of computer-aided design. As discussed above,this embodiment describes mapping, by the geometry engine, directmodeling edits to traditional and flexible parametric features. In briefoverview, at step 340, a user of a direct modeling user interface of aCAD application makes an edit or modification to a CAD model. Aparametric geometry engine of the CAD application determines if it canmap the edit or modification to a traditional parametric feature. If so,at step 342, the parametric geometry engine creates or modifies aparametric feature in a history-based parametric feature recipe. If not,at step 344, the parametric geometry engine creates or modifies aflexible parametric features, such as a flex move or flex move copyfeature, as discussed above.

The parametric geometry engine then determines if it can recognize apattern or symmetry associated with the feature. In one embodiment, thismay comprise identifying an explicit pattern or symmetry creationcommand in the direct modeling user interface by the user. In anotherembodiment, this may comprise identifying an implicit pattern orsymmetry creation, such as a copy and paste operation by the user in thedirect modeling user interface. If the parametric geometry engine canrecognize a pattern or symmetry, then at step 346, the parametricgeometry engine may create or modify a flexible pattern or flexiblesymmetry feature of the parametric model. In some embodiments, steps340-346 may be repeated.

In a further embodiment, the parametric geometry engine may recalculateor regenerate one or more features according to the parametric featureslist, responsive to the user's edit to geometry. In yet another furtherembodiment, modification by the user in the direct modeling userinterface of an entity or feature associated with a flexible pattern orflexible symmetry feature may cause the parametric geometry engine topropagate the edit to corresponding entities or features of the patternor symmetry feature. In some embodiments, only the most recent featurethe user has created in the direct modeling user interface may berecalcualted or regenerated. Because direct modeling CAD typically doesnot regenerate features not modified by a user because of the lack ofparametric dependencies, history, and relationships, it may be confusingto a user if multiple features are regenerated in response to a singleoperation. In other embodiments, additional features may be recalculatedor regenerated, depending on type or class of feature. For example,certain types of features may be easier to regenerate, or the user maybe confused if certain types of features are not regenerated.Accordingly, in one such embodiment, these features may be regenerated,even if others are not.

As discussed above, in CAD systems that import and translate a directmodel into a parametric modeling environment, there is typically a lossof data fidelity and product information. Similarly, when importing aparametric model into a direct modeling environment, there is typicallya loss of parametric features, including history, design intent, anddependencies and relationships among objects and entities. Furthermore,engineering and geometric constraints are typically lost. For example, afirst surface may be constrained in a parametric environment to beparallel to a second surface, such that rotating one causes a geometryengine to recalculate and rotate the other accordingly. In anotherexample, a model may include engineering constraints for materialselection or safety reasons, such as requiring a specified thickness ofmaterial around a hole to be drilled, requiring a roll bar of apassenger compartment to be at least a certain diameter, or requiring anengine part to be a minimum distance from an operator position. If theseconstraints are lost during translation to a direct modelingenvironment, a user could easily move parts in ways that violate safetyrules, resulting in higher manufacturing expense to redesign later.Additionally, if the model is then returned to the parametric modelingenvironment, because the constraints were lost during the firsttranslation, they may not reappear. As a result, a user of theparametric modeling environment may believe that, because the parametricfeatures of the imported model do not show engineering constraints thatother parametric models may include, no such constraints exist.

By staying with a parametric modeling paradigm throughout bothparametric modeling and direct modeling, in one embodiment of thepresent invention, constraints of features may be retained during directmodeling. A geometry engine may compare an attempted edit to a featurein a direct modeling user interface to an existing constraint, and, inone embodiment, prevent the user from completing the edit. In otherembodiments, the geometry engine may present a dialog box to the userand allow them to reject the edit, override or delete the constraint,modify the constraint, or take other actions as appropriate. In stillother embodiments, the geometry engine may allow one user to edit thefeature, but not another user. This allows for ownership or user-basedpermissions of surfaces and features in a direct modeling userinterface. For example, in one such embodiment, a lead designer maycreate a base set of features that only the lead designer can edit, suchas a structural frame or powertrain, and secondary designers may thenadd, delete and modify additional optional features, such as seats,windows, electrical subsystems, or other elements. In some embodiments,a feature controlled in these methods may be referred to as a read-onlysurface or feature, or a constraint-locked feature.

Referring now to FIG. 3E, shown is a flow chart of an embodiment of amethod of constraint locking in computer-aided design. In briefoverview, at step 350, a user may create a feature constraint in aparametric modeling user interface of a CAD application. In oneembodiment, the feature constraint may comprise a geometric constraint,such as a specified orientation with respect to or distance from anotherfeature or other similar constraint. In another embodiment, the featuremay comprise an engineering constraint, such as a material type,strength requirement, maximum weight allowance, or other similarconstraint.

At step 352, in some embodiments, the user may attempt to edit thefeature in a direct modeling user interface of the CAD application. Asdiscussed above, attempting to edit the feature may comprise performinga direct manipulation on the feature, such as a push, pull, move,rotate, or other manipulation, or may comprise editing productinformation of the feature, such as a material, paint, surface, or othermanufacturing aspect of the feature.

At step 354, in some embodiments, the parametric geometry engine mayenforce the feature constraint in the direct modeling user interface,responsive to the user's attempt to edit the feature. As discussedabove, enforcing the feature constraint may comprise rejecting orpreventing the edit, presenting a dialog to the user, allowing the userto override or modify the constraint, enforcing permission-based editingby user or group ownership, or other enforcement mechanisms.

C. Systems and Methods for Creating Business Driven Assemblies

In some uses of CAD systems, a completed design may be used formanufacturing of many copies of the designed product. For example, aconsumer automobile company may create a design for a new model of car,and then use an assembly line to create in excess of a hundred cars perday. However, in other users, a design may be used only once or twice.For example, the large towing engines for commercial semi-trailers,commonly referred to as tractors, prime movers, trucks, or big rigs, arefrequently heavily customized prior to manufacture. One customer mayrequest an extended cab, double-axle, five-speed manual transmissionmodel, and another customer may request a regular cab, triple-axle, fourspeed automatic transmission model. Everything from tire tread depth toplacement, size, and number of windows to the number of running lightsmay be specified, creating potentially thousands of different models.This typically results in a designer having to modify or create a newCAD model for each and every truck sold, raising prices and resulting indelays in delivering product.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention includes a method andsystem for creation of a dynamically-configurable product design,sometimes referred to as business driven assemblies. Such productdesigns may be referred to as driven by a bill-of-materials (BOM) orselection of options by a customer, sales representative, or vendor, andmay be performed responsive to a product lifecycle management (PLM)plan. The system allows a customer to define specifications of aproduct, and then dynamically generates a CAD model responsive to thedefined specifications or selected options.

Shown in FIG. 4A is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system forcreation of business driven assemblies. In brief overview, and asdiscussed above, a computing device 100 executes a CAD application 300and includes or communicates with storage 128, which includes one oremore models 310. Each object 312 and/or sub-object 312′ may include oneor more variants 406. In some embodiments, the computing device 100 mayalso execute or communicate with another computing device executing aproduct lifecycle management (PLM) application 400. PLM application 400may, in some embodiments, comprise a part database 402 and/or a partselection engine 404.

Still referring to FIG. 4A and in more detail, in one embodiment, acomputing device includes or executes a PLM application 400. Althoughshown on computing device 100, in many embodiments, PLM application 400executes on a second computing device that communicates with or passesdata to computing device 100. PLM application 400 may comprise anapplication, program, routine, web service, applet, or other executableinstructions for configuring a product through selection of one or morepredetermined options or variants. In many embodiments, PLM application400 also comprises a user interface for presenting a part database 402or portion thereof, and allowing a customer, sales representative, orother user to select one or more options for a product.

A part database 402 may comprise a database, file, library, or other setof one or more parts, and may include an identification of one or morefeatures of a part. For example, the part database may includedescriptions, costs, weights, materials and sub-parts needed, partnumbers, or other information useful to a customer, salesrepresentative, or manufacturer. Part database 402 may be used, alongwith a part selection engine 404 and/or a user interface to allow acustomer to configure options for a product design and communicate saidselected options to a parametric geometry engine 302 of a CADapplication 300.

As discussed above, in some embodiments, objects 312 and/or sub-objects312′ may comprise one or more variant objects 406. In one embodiment, avariant 406 may comprise an alternate assembly to be used in a model orproduct design. In another embodiment, a variant 406 may include adefault variant to be used in the absence of a selection by a user. Instill another embodiment, a variant 406 may include a generic variant,sometimes referred to as a shape generic, which may be used as aplaceholder in a model for later generation of a custom feature where auser wishes to apply a custom option that has not yet been created. Forexample, in one embodiment, a user may select from a predetermined listof options for truck tires including variations in size, width, andtread type and depth, or may select a generic tire shape, possibly justa torus, to be placed in the model until a tire is later selected.

In one embodiment, a variant 406 may comprise one or more interfaces or“handles” that trigger the parametric geometry engine to makemodifications to geometry, shape or positioning of one or more adjacentobjects. These handles or interfaces may sometimes be referred to asshapers or locators. In one embodiment, a locator handle or interfacemay comprise a constraint or joint-based interface used for positioningof an adjacent object. For example, a vehicle door object may includedifferent options such as power doors or windows, which may requiredifferent routing of electrical cables. To accommodate these cables,different variants may have different centers of gravity or requiredifferent mounting options, and thus require different hinge positions.Accordingly, each variant may include one or more locator interfaces fora door hinge that correspond to one or more hinge elements on thevehicle frame. The geometry engine may automatically adjust positioningof the frame and/or door to match up the door hinges and the framehinges.

Similarly, in one embodiment, a shaper handle or interface may cause theparametric geometry engine to adjust the geometry of an adjacent object.For example, different variants of engines may have exhaust ports orcoolant intake ports in different positions. A shaper interface at anexhaust port, for instance, may correspond to a shaper interface on afront pipe of an exhaust system. Responsive to the relative positions ofthe shaper interface, the geometry engine may automatically extend,extrude, rotate, enlarge or shrink, or otherwise manipulate the frontpipe of the exhaust system to match the position and orientation of theexhaust port. Similarly, shaper interfaces may be used in an electricalsubsystem to cause the geometry engine to automatically extend and routecables to meet connectors of adjacent modules. Thus, selection of anoption for a product design by a customer may cause the system toautomatically place and reconfigure the design as necessary, reducingthe need for human designers to manually edit each model.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, shown is a tree diagram of a modular structure310 and corresponding three dimensional model 315 of an example of abusiness driven assembly. In brief overview, the modular structure 310may comprise a parametric feature-based recipe of objects 312,sub-objects 312′, sub-sub-objects 312″, or other levels of objects asdiscussed above. Associative links and dependencies of the model areshown in the structure 310 as branches in the tree diagram. In theexample shown, a mower frame 312 a is the base object for a mower, andhas three children, the mower deck 312′a, engine 312′b, and operatorcompartment 312′c. The engine 312′b has two child objects, thehydrostatic transmission 312″a and mechanical transmission 312″b.Similarly, the operator compartment 312′c has two child objects, seat312″c and rollover protection 312″d. Several of these component objectsare visible in the three-dimensional model 315, which is included forclarity. As one skilled in the art may readily understand, in manyembodiments, the feature-based recipe does not include an image of the3D model, but rather the 3D model is generated by a display engine of aCAD application. In the modular structure, three components are outlinedin dotted line, to signify that variants of these components exist for auser to select for product configuration. In some embodiments, anapplication may present the user with a tree diagram such as the oneshown for selecting variant parts, while in other embodiments,configuration options may be presented in alternate manners, such as aconfiguration page of a web site, or even a printed form withcheckboxes. As such, while the tree diagram of FIG. 4B is providedprimarily as an abstraction to show dependencies of objects, in manyembodiments, the tree diagram may also comprise part of a userinterface.

Referring now to FIG. 4C, shown is a tree diagram of an embodiment of aplurality of variants of a variable module in an example of a businessdriven assembly. In the example shown, one of the configurable modulespresented in FIG. 4B, the seat 312″c, comprises four variants 406 a-406d, referred to generally as variants 406. Each variant 406 comprises oneor more geometric entities and features and may be predesigned orconfigured by a user of the system. As shown in variant 406 a, in someembodiments, a variant may comprise a shape generic that may be used asa placeholder in the model, representative of the object. As discussedabove, each variant may include one or more locator and/or shaperinterfaces. For example, in the example shown, each seat 406 b-406 dincludes a similar mounting assembly 408. Referring back briefly to FIG.4B, mounting assembly 408 can be seen where it connects to a portion ofoperator compartment 312′c and/or frame 312 a. Accordingly, in someembodiments, each seat 406 a-d may include a locator interface to allowthe parametric geometry engine to automatically orient the seat properlyin the model against a corresponding interface on the operatorcompartment 312′c and/or frame 312 a. In another embodiment, each seat406 a-d may include a shaper interface to reposition mounting hardwareof operator compartment 312′c and/or frame 312 a as necessary.Similarly, locator and shaper interfaces may be used to adjust positionof the rollover protection 312″d, as well as steering and controlelements, shock absorbers, or any other feature of the model.

Referring now to FIG. 4D, shown is a flow chart of an embodiment of amethod of creation of business driven assemblies. In brief overview, inone embodiment, at step 420, a user or designer may create a modularstructure of a plurality of modules of a dynamically configurableproduct design using a CAD application. The plurality of modules maycomprise at least one variable module comprising a plurality of variantsor a default and at least one variant. At step 422, the user may selecta variant of the at least one variable module to use in the dynamicallyconfigurable product design. At step 424, the CAD application or ageometry engine of the CAD application may place the selected variant ina geometric model of the dynamically configurable product design. Atstep 426, the CAD application may modify position or geometry of amodule adjacent to the placed selected variant in the geometric model,responsive to one or more constraints of the placed selected variant.

Still referring to FIG. 4D and in more detail, at step 420, a user of acomputer aided design application may create a modular structure of aplurality of modules of a dynamically configurable product design. Insome embodiments, the plurality of modules may comprise at least onevariable module. In many embodiments, the modular structure may comprisean historic feature-based parametric construction recipe, wheredependencies between one or more objects and/or features may implicitlycreate the modular structure. For example, in a parametric history witha base object, and two dependent objects, the dependencies between thedependent objects and the base object may be considered a modularstructure. In some embodiments, a module may refer to an individualobject or a feature, but in most embodiments, a module may refer to agroup of objects or features comprising a sub-assembly of a product,such as a functional module such as a keypad or an engine, or astructural module, such as a product face plate or vehicle frame.Although referred to as functional or structural modules, otherclassifications of modules may be used without limitation.

In some embodiments, the variable module may comprise a plurality ofalternate sub-assemblies, with common connections to adjacent modules.In one embodiment, the variable module may include a defaultsub-assembly or variant. In another embodiment, the variable module mayinclude a generic shape sub-assembly with only basic features. In oneembodiment, a common connection to an adjacent module of thesub-assembly may comprise a locator interface or a shaper interface, asdiscussed above, which may be used by a parametric geometry engine tomodify positioning of modules or geometry of modules.

At step 422, in one embodiment, a user may select a variant of thevariable module to use in the dynamically configurable product design.As discussed above, in one embodiment, the user may use a selectioninterface of a PDM application, while in another embodiment, the usermay use a web form, an order form, a catalog, or any other form forselecting a variant to use in the design.

At step 424, the CAD application or a geometry engine of the CADapplication may place the selected variant in a geometric model of thedynamically configurable product design. In some embodiments, placingthe selected variant in a geometric model may comprise executing, by thegeometry engine, a feature list or recipe of the variant to constructthe variant in the geometric model.

At step 426, in some embodiments, the CAD application or geometry enginemay modify positioning or geometry of the variant or of a moduleadjacent to the placed selected variant in the geometric modelresponsive to one or more constraints of the placed selected variant.These one or more constraints may be identified by one or more locatoror shaper interfaces, as discussed above. In one embodiment, the CADapplication or geometry engine may translate and/or rotate the selectedvariant to align one or more locator interfaces of the selected variantwith one or more locator interfaces of one or more adjacent modules orobjects. In another similar embodiment, the CAD application or geometryengine may translate and/or rotate the one or more adjacent modules orobjects to align one or more locator interfaces of the one or moreadjacent modules or objects with one or more locator interfaces of theselected variant. In another embodiment, the CAD application or geometryengine may scale or stretch the selected variant to cause one or moreshaper interfaces of the variant to align with one or more shaperinterfaces of one or more adjacent modules or objects. In yet anotherembodiment, the CAD application or geometry engine may extend, twist, orotherwise route geometry of the variant to align one or more shaperinterfaces of the variant with one or more shaper interfaces of anadjacent module or object. In a similar embodiment, the CAD applicationor geometry engine may extend, twist, or otherwise route geometry of anadjacent module or object to align one or more shaper interfaces of theadjacent module or object with one or more shaper interfaces of thevariant.

D. Systems and Methods for Dynamically Loading Portions of aComputer-Aided Design Model on Demand

In many CAD systems, the system may load all parts or features of a CADmodel at once. For example, and as discussed above, in many CAD systemsa geometry engine may execute, regenerate, or recalculate each step of ahistory-based feature list to construct a CAD model for display by adisplay or rendering engine. With a simple model with only a fewfeatures, this can be done quickly. However, complicated models mayinclude thousands or tens of thousands of parts, each comprising dozensor hundreds of individual features. For example, a model of a truck maycomprise separate parts for the frame, axels, universal joints, elementsof the power train, elements of brake assemblies, electrical subsystems,lights, hydraulics, windows, seats, instruments, exhaust systems, fuellines, etc. The engine alone may comprise several hundred parts andseveral thousand features.

To reduce memory requirements and regeneration times, many CAD designersbreak a CAD model into subsections and design each subsection indifferent models. For example, a CAD designer may have a single modelthat only includes the electrical systems, and a second model that onlyincludes the non-moving parts of the frame, and a third model that onlyincludes the engine fuel/exhaust system, etc. However, this may lead toconfusion and inefficiencies, as well as errors where a modification ismade to one subsection, such as engine mounts of a frame, that willrequire modifications in a different subsection, such as the engineitself Because these parts are not in the same model, the designer mustperform complicated manual bookkeeping to ensure that the models aresynchronized and compatible. Additionally, the ability to performengineering and manufacturing analysis on the model is reduced, becausefeatures such as weight and center of gravity will be a result of acombination of all of the subsections.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention features systems andmethods for dynamically loading portions of a computer-aided designmodel on demand. In one embodiment, a CAD application may progressivelyload portions of a CAD model as needed by a user for a particular designtask. This reduces both memory and processing requirements, and createsthe potential for a executing a CAD application with access to acomplete CAD model on devices with limited resources, such as a laptop,a tablet computer, a smartphone, or any other system.

By way of example, in one embodiment, a user may retrieve a model of avehicle in order to assemble one or more new components. The CADapplication may load the vehicle structure and graphics for display. Theuser may then select new components to add, such as a transmissionassembly. The CAD application may load the transmission structure andgraphics for display. When the user selects specific geometry of thevehicle structure to use in defining constraints for the transmission,those selected geometry references may be loaded by the CAD application,without loading the entire geometry of the model.

For example, shown in FIG. 5A is a three-dimensional view of an exampleof a computer-aided design model 500 of a truck. The CAD application mayload graphics of the model 500, which in one embodiment, may be storedwith the model or in a separate file. In another embodiment, graphicsmay be generated dynamically, but without loading geometry of the entiremodel. For example, in one embodiment, during prior creation of themodel, the CAD application may determine a shell or set of outer,visible surfaces of the model, and store a geometric representation ofthese surfaces. This shell representation may be used to dynamicallygenerate graphics, without needing to load geometry of underlying,hidden or internal surfaces. In some embodiments, the CAD applicationmay also load a modular structure of the model, as discussed above inconnection with FIGS. 4A-4D. Although shown in FIG. 4B as a collectionof sub-assemblies, in many embodiments, a modular structure may comprisea structure of individual objects or features. For example, rather thanreferencing a seat, as in FIG. 4B, a modular structure may include abase portion of a seat, a back rest, internal framing, one or twoarmrests, cushions or other padding, various seams and stitching, etc.,each with dependencies and relationships with other geometric entitiesand parts. In one embodiment, the CAD application may load a portion ofa modular structure, such as the group of elements referred to as theseat in the above example. Similarly, in the example shown in FIG. 5A,the CAD application may load an overall modular structure of the truck,including the frame, cab, engine compartment, powertrain, etc., withoutloading individual elements of each sub-assembly.

As shown in FIG. 5B in a three-dimensional view of a sub-assembly of theexample of the computer-aided design model, in one embodiment and by wayof example, the user may select a sub-assembly such as engine model 502.Responsive to the selection, the CAD application may load a modularstructure of the engine model and graphics and geometry data of theengine. In some embodiments, the graphics data may comprise graphicsdata of only external or visible elements of the engine, and may bestored or generated as discussed above.

Continuing with this process of “drilling down” into the model throughprogressive loading, shown in FIG. 5C is a three-dimensional view of asub-assembly of the sub-assembly of the example of the computer-aideddesign model. As shown, in one embodiment and by way of example, theuser may select a sub-assembly of the engine such as engine piston model504. Responsive to the selection, the CAD application may load a modularstructure of the engine piston model and graphics and geometry data ofthe engine piston. In some embodiments, the graphics data may comprisegraphics data of only external or visible elements of the engine piston,and may be stored or generated as discussed above.

In some embodiments, when the user modifies geometry of a selectedobject that includes a constraint or reference to a second object,geometry and graphics data of the second object may be loaded. Forexample, if the user attempts to modify the diameter of the enginepiston, and the diameter has a constraint or relationship to asurrounding cylinder, the CAD application may load geometry of thecylinder to enforce constraints and recalculate or regenerate featuresas necessary. Accordingly, the user has full ability to manipulate andedit all features of even a highly complex model with reduced memory andprocessing requirements.

Shown in FIG. 5D is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method fordynamically loading portions of a computer-aided design model on demand.In brief overview, at step 510, a CAD application may load a firstportion of a CAD model. In one embodiment, the first portion of the CADmodel may comprise a modular structure of the CAD model. In a furtherembodiment, the modular structure may comprise one or moresub-assemblies or modules of the CAD model. In another embodiment, thefirst portion of the CAD model may comprise graphics and geometry dataof a first element of the modular structure. In a further embodiment,the first element of the modular structure may comprise a root element,assembly, or module of the modular structure. In another furtherembodiment, the graphics data may comprise a shell or outer surface orsurfaces of the modular structure or CAD model.

At step 512, in some embodiments, the user may select a second elementof the modular structure. In some embodiments, the second element maycomprise a sub-element of the modular structure. In other embodiments,such as where the user has finished working on a component in the enginecompartment of the truck shown in FIGS. 5A-5C and now wishes to work ona component in the rear brakes, the second element may comprise anon-directly related element or sub-assembly in the modular structure.In a further embodiment, selection by the user of a non-directly relatedelement may cause the CAD application to unload graphics and geometrydata of the first element from memory.

At step 514, in some embodiments, responsive to the selection by theuser of the second element, the CAD application may load a secondportion of the CAD model the second portion comprising a modularstructure of the selected second element. In a further embodiment, themodular structure of the second element may comprise one or moresub-assemblies or modules of the second element. In another embodiment,the second portion of the CAD model may comprise graphics and geometrydata of the selected second element. In a further embodiment, thegraphics data may comprise a shell or outer surface or surfaces of theselected second element.

In some embodiments, steps 512-514 or 510-514 may be repeated. In oneembodiment, a user may select one or more items of geometry data of athird element of the modular structure for defining a constraint ofgeometry data of the first element or the second element; and the CADapplication may load, responsive to the selection, the selected one ormore items of geometry data of the third element. In some embodiments,loading graphics and geometry of the third element may comprise notloading unselected items of geometry data of the third element. Forexample, in the piston and cylinder example discussed above, the CADapplication may load a diameter of the cylinder when the user attemptsto edit a diameter of the piston, but not load a depth or other featuresof the cylinder if they are not needed. Furthermore, as discussed above,in many embodiments, selecting a non-directly related element of themodel may cause the CAD application to unload earlier loaded portions ofthe model, to free up memory.

In some embodiments, loading graphics and geometry of an element maycomprise loading one or more location interfaces or shaper interfaces ofthe element. In one embodiment, loading graphics and geometry data of anelement may comprise identifying one or more visible or externalsurfaces of the element, and loading graphics and geometry data of theidentified visible or external surfaces of the element. In oneembodiment, such as where the user is adding an element to a model,selecting the element may comprise adding the element to the modularstructure of a previous element.

CONCLUSION

It should be understood that the systems described above may providemultiple ones of any or each of those components and these componentsmay be provided on either a standalone machine or, in some embodiments,on multiple machines in a distributed system. The systems and methodsdescribed above may be implemented as a method, apparatus or article ofmanufacture using programming and/or engineering techniques to producesoftware, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. In addition,the systems and methods described above may be provided as one or morecomputer-readable programs embodied on or in one or more articles ofmanufacture. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass code or logic accessible from and embedded in oneor more computer-readable devices, firmware, programmable logic, memorydevices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, SRAMs, etc.), hardware (e.g.,integrated circuit chip, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA),Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.), electronicdevices, a computer readable non-volatile storage unit (e.g., CD-ROM,floppy disk, hard disk drive, etc.). The article of manufacture may beaccessible from a file server providing access to the computer-readableprograms via a network transmission line, wireless transmission media,signals propagating through space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc.The article of manufacture may be a flash memory card or a magnetictape. The article of manufacture includes hardware logic as well assoftware or programmable code embedded in a computer readable mediumthat is executed by a processor. In general, the computer-readableprograms may be implemented in any programming language, such as LISP,PERL, C, C++, C#, PROLOG, or in any byte code language such as JAVA. Thesoftware programs may be stored on or in one or more articles ofmanufacture as object code.

Having described certain embodiments of methods and systems forproviding seamless thumbnails for hosted applications, it will nowbecome apparent to one of skill in the art that other embodimentsincorporating the concepts of the invention may be used.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for creating a dynamically-configurableproduct design, the method comprising: creating, via a computer-aideddesign (CAD) application executing on a processor of a computing device,a modular structure comprising a plurality of geometric modules of adynamically-configurable product design, the plurality of geometricmodules comprising at least one variable geometric module; providing aplurality of predetermined variants of the at least one variablegeometric module for selection by a user, the predetermined variantseach having a parametric geometry; receiving an input from the useridentifying a selected variant chosen by the user from the plurality ofpredetermined variants of the at least one variable geometric module,the selected variant comprising at least one of a locator handle and ashaper handle; automatically placing, by the processor, the selectedvariant in a geometric model of the dynamically-configurable productdesign; and triggering a parametric geometry engine by the at least oneof the locator handle and the shaper handle; responsive to thetriggering of the parametric geometry engine, automatically modifying,by the parametric geometry engine, at least one of a positioning or ageometry of a geometric module adjacent to the placed selected variantin the geometric model of the dynamically-configurable product design inaccordance with the at least one of the location handle and the shaperhandle, thereby integrating the placed selected variant with theadjacent geometric module.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the modularstructure comprises a tree of relationships of modules of a productdesign.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein each module of the productdesign includes a locator interface or a shaper interface.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the plurality of variants of the at least onevariable module includes a generic variant.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the plurality of predetermined variants are presented by aproduct configuration tool.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein placingthe selected variant in the geometric model comprises replacing apreviously-used variant of the at least one variable module in thegeometric model with the selected variant.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein modifying positioning or geometry of a module adjacent to theplaced selected variant comprises modifying positioning or geometry ofthe adjacent module to align an interface of the adjacent module to acorresponding interface of the placed selected variant.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more constraints of the placed selectedvariant comprise rules for aligning a locator or shaper interface of anadjacent module to a corresponding locator or shaper interface of theplaced selected variant.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein thedynamically-configurable product design comprises a historic instructionlist of feature-based geometry of a CAD model.
 10. The method of claim1, further comprising automatically modifying by the parametric geometryengine a geometry of the placed selected variant itself.
 11. The methodof claim 10, wherein the automatic modifying of the geometry of theplaced selected variant by the parametric geometry engine is performedby executing instructions triggered by the shaper handle.
 12. A systemfor creation of a dynamically-configurable product design, comprising: acomputing device comprising a processor, the processor configured toexecute: a computer-aided design (CAD) application for creating, by auser of the CAD application, a modular structure comprising a pluralityof geometric modules of a dynamically-configurable product design, theplurality of geometric modules comprising at least one variable module;a selection interface for selecting, by the user from a plurality ofpredetermined variants of the at least one variable geometric module, avariant to use in the dynamically-configurable product design, thepredetermined variants each having a parametric geometry; and aparametric geometry engine for placing the selected variant in ageometric model of the dynamically-configurable product design, andmodifying a positioning or geometry of a geometric module adjacent tothe placed selected variant in the geometric model responsive to one ormore constraints of the placed selected variant, the selected variantcomprising at least one of a locator handle and a shaper handle, the atleast one of a locator handle and a shaper handle configured to triggerthe parametric geometry engine to modify the position or geometry,respectively, of the geometric module adjacent to the placed selectedvariant in accordance with the at least one of the location handle andthe shaper handle, thereby integrating the placed selected variant withthe adjacent geometric module.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein themodular structure comprises a tree of relationships of modules of aproduct design.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein each module of theproduct design includes a locator interface or a shaper interface. 15.The system of claim 12, wherein each variant of the plurality ofvariants of the at least one variable module includes a correspondinglocator interface or shaper interface.
 16. The system of claim 12,wherein the plurality of variants of the at least one variable moduleincludes a generic variant.
 17. The system of claim 12, whereinselecting a variant comprises selecting, by the user, a variant from apredetermined list of variants of the variable module presented by aproduct configuration tool.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein placingthe selected variant in the geometric model comprises replacing apreviously-used variant of the at least one variable module in thegeometric model with the selected variant.
 19. The system of claim 12,wherein modifying positioning or geometry of a module adjacent to theplaced selected variant comprises modifying positioning or geometry ofthe adjacent module to align an interface of the adjacent module to acorresponding interface of the placed selected variant.
 20. The systemof claim 12, wherein the one or more constraints of the placed selectedvariant comprise rules for aligning a locator or shaper interface of anadjacent module to a corresponding locator or shaper interface of theplaced selected variant.
 21. The system of claim 12, wherein thedynamically-configurable product design comprises a historic instructionlist of feature-based geometry of a CAD model.